'Battlestar Galactica': Thirteen Cylons for 13 tribes

So, all's well on the Battlestar Galactica, right? Mutiny put down, Cylons ready to take up stations around the fleet, Earth a radioactive cinder, mysterious cracks in the FTL drive chamber... Oh, right. This week, we may not get hope, but we sure as frak got answers.

[The fifth spoiler is most mysterious of all.]

We open with a nice new look at the Cylons, most notably for the inclusion of the old-school silver and gold models from the 1970s series. Think you know the relationship? Just you wait.

The Final Five Turns out a bullet to the head is the best way to help one of the Final Five remember their shared past. Yep, Sam T. Anders will be acting as your expository device this evening.

The Final Five -- Ellen, Saul, Galen, Tori and Sam -- were Earth researchers tasked with rediscovering the secret of resurrection. I mean, who needs resurrection when you can have so much fun procreating? Especially considering Tori and Galen were a couple, as were Ellen and Saul. Poor Sam. (Or... was to be pitied? Five is such an odd -- pun intended -- number that I can't believe Kara wasn't also present on Earth at the time.)

Unfortunately, our Five didn't have faster-than-light jump drives, so when they set off for the other 12 colonies, it took a nice long time. Long enough for the Centurions to rebel and start the first Cylon war. Also long enough for the Centurions to develop monotheism. Playing off this newfound religion, the Five offered the Centurions a way to evolve into humanoid bodies that could resurrect after death.

The Centurions accepted, and so eight humanoid bodies were created. Eight? Yes, eight. The Sevens were named Daniel (not Kara), but were snuffed out quickly. Sure. I bet Daniel never reappears. Unfortunately, the Five couldn't live forever, and when they died Brother Cavill blocked their memories and placed them as spies.

That's all we get, unfortunately, before Sam has to go into surgery. No points for guessing Doc Cottle and guest star John Hodgman (as the fleet's best brain surgeon) successfully remove the bullet but leave Sam in a coma. I do like that he described his visions as "a gift from the angels." More proof behind my theory that the Ship of Lights will swoop in soon from the 1970s.

Ellen TighAs expected, Ellen resurrects aboard the Hub after drinking poison on New Caprica. Brother Cavill is there to meet her, and boy is he unhappy. He is also, apparently, "John" -- named after Ellen's father. John hates being in a flesh body, and spends every moment bitching about it. He tries to convert Boomer at every turn.

Ellen doesn't shed much more light, other than that John killed the Daniels by poisoning the amniotic fluid where there bodies were growing. Boomer isn't too happy with that.

So unhappy, in fact, that just two days before Sam has his episode, Boomer sneaks Ellen onto a Raptor and jumps the two of them to, presumably, someplace where the humans can find them.

It's interesting to me that so much backstory was told without flashbacks; we had Sam's narrative and the reactions from Saul, Tori, Galen and Kara (and, occasionally, the meddling of the medical staff). Despite that, the episode worked really well. All, that is, except the ominous mentions of Daniel. Do we suddenly want a new character to keep track of? He was mentioned too often to not factor into the remaining episodes. Plus, how will Galactica's new organic Cylon repair job come into play?